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Review content:
Parking may be hard to come by, but it's worth the effort.
I'm one of those picky people who never orders fried foods, because the oil always tastes bad to me. For that reason, I've always hated salt and pepper squid, and it's fishy cousins. I've never had it prepared well.
Here it is lovely, light, crispy, clean tasting, not overwhelmingly spicy, but as far from bland as you can get. The squid itself remained tender beneath it's crunchy exterior. I finally know what all the fuss is about. Wonderful, craveable dish. For that reason alone, I'll be back. Often.
I also had the Mongolian beef, and the scallops with sweet pea pods. The Mongolian beef had that soft texture that some Chinese restaurants have. But it was nice and tender. I'd much rather have soft than chewy stuff that you have to return to a discrete corner of your napkin. The flavor was very nice, much better than the gloppy sweet stuff of my childhood.
The scallops and pea pods could have had a bit less sauce, but it's a tiny quibble. The pea pods were lovely, all our veggies were fresh. Much care goes into this food. I enjoyed it all tremendously.
Some other reviews have said the food is a bit too salty. I don't know that it's so very salty that it takes away from the food any, but I wouldn't complain if it were a bit less salty either. They use such fresh ingredients, it would be nice to taste more of the fresh veggies a bit if it were not quite so heavily seasoned.
The dishes I ordered all had a wee bit of kick. For folks used to Americanized food, it may be a bit of a surprise, but it's really nice not to eat the same old Panda type food.
The best thing beyond the amazing food is the service. It's not cranky or cantankerous. After having a horrible, horrible day, I needed some cheering up. By the time I got my youngest kids to sleep and my oldest and I could head out, it was late.
They were friendly and gracious. I offered to get my food to go, but the hostess offered to seat us, and knowing I wanted a Vietnamese coffee, I decided to stay.
By the time we left, it was 10 minutes after closing. The hostess made us feel completely welcome, at the end of what had to be a long night for her.
This is probably the best service anywhere in Portland. I had a fantastic time. I left smiling. Aside from a great meal, it made my day better. What a gift.
Pros: Best salt and pepper squid I've ever had
Cons: Parking
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